Lee Kerslake

Lee Kerslake
Lee Kerslake with Uriah Heep in Hamburg, Germany in February 1973
Background information
Birth name	Lee Kerslake
Born	(1947-04-16) 16 April 1947 (age 69) Winton, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom
Genres	Hard rock, progressive rock, art rock, Southern rock, heavy metal
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Drums, percussion, keyboards, trumpet, kazoo, vocals
Years active	1968–present
Labels	Bronze, Mercury, Warner Bros.
Associated acts	Uriah Heep, The Gods, Toe Fat, Head Machine, National Head Band, Ken Hensley, David Byron, Ozzy Osbourne, Living Loud

Lee Kerslake (born 16 April 1947 in Winton, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England) is an English musician, best known as the longtime drummer and backing vocalist for the rock band Uriah Heep and for his work with Ozzy Osbourne in the early 1980s.

In the late 1960s to early 1970s, Kerslake played with a band called the Gods, releasing three albums. He then joined Uriah Heep in November 1971, left the band in October 1979, and rejoined them in April 1982. He also played on David Byron's and Ken Hensley's solo albums, among other efforts. On the Firefly album he was credited as Lee "The Bear" Kerslake, the nickname being a reference to his beard growth and overall solid physical build.

In 1980, Kerslake met ex-Black Sabbath vocalist Ozzy Osbourne by chance in a lift at the Kings Cross Hotel in Australia. "He was in one corner with his bodyguard and his manager, and I was in the other corner with mine. Rather funny". They would soon form the band Blizzard of Ozz with bassist Bob Daisley and guitarist Randy Rhoads, though the band soon became an Ozzy Osbourne solo project. Kerslake's work can be heard on Osbourne's first two solo albums, Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman.

Kerslake left Osbourne's band in early 1981 to care for his mother, who had fallen ill. On the Diary of a Madman notes, Kerslake and bassist Bob Daisley were not credited, with drummer Tommy Aldridge and bassist Rudy Sarzo instead receiving credit. Aldridge has stated of the Diary of a Madman album, "I think it's pretty obvious that it's not my drumming on that album. I have never taken credit for that recording and have always given Lee Kerslake, whenever asked or interviewed, the credit he rightly deserves."

In 1998, Kerslake and Daisley filed suit against Ozzy Osbourne and his manager/wife Sharon Osbourne, seeking royalties and songwriting credits for their contributions to the Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman albums. As a result, the 2002 reissues of both albums removed Kerslake and Daisley's performances, replacing them with newly recorded tracks by bassist Robert Trujillo and drummer Mike Bordin (when the albums were again reissued in 2011, the original bass and drum tracks were restored). Kerslake is unsure why the Osbourne camp has treated him so negatively. "The only thing I could ever recall was once Ozzy had asked me to speak to her on his behalf regarding the two shows in New York in one night as Ozzy said 'I can't do two shows in one night - not with my voice!' He told me to tell her. I did as he said. I would have died for Ozzy as we were a band and I loved him as such. Because I broke the news to her, she's hated my guts", he recalled in 2011.